Method and device for ball holder

ABSTRACT

The ball holder is an effective device that has an elongate coil having a first end and a second end. The coil has an inside chamber defined therein for releasably holding a spherical object therein. The second end has an upper coil segment connected to a lower coil segment by a resilient coil segment. The upper coil segment and the lower coil segment have an opening defined therebetween. The ball holder may be modified so that it holds a pen and a key.

PRIOR APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/366,125; filed Mar. 18, 2002.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to a method and device for a ball holder.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Many holder devices have been developed in the past to store golf balls. Most conventional golf ball holders are made of plastic materials and the constructions are often vulnerable to breakage and damage. The conventional holders are also often time consuming and expensive to manufacture. Another drawback of conventional ball holder designs is that the balls are often difficult to remove and insert without the risk of finger damage and nail breakage. For example, the holders are sometimes too stiff and cumbersome to open and close which is a particular problem for physically challenged golf players such as very young, female or old players. Another disadvantage is that the golf balls disposed in conventional holders tend to rattle about in the holders.

[0004] The previous coil based golf ball holders have many additional drawbacks. For example, the holders often have a protruding coil segment that expands around the circumference of one of the golf balls disposed therein. The coil segment forms a point of entry and exit for the golf balls. This means that the user cannot grip both sides of the bottom golf ball simultaneously. In this way, the ball has to be pressed out of the holder using the user's thumb and index finger to stretch out the free wire end of the coil segment so that the opening is sufficiently increased to let the golf ball pass therethrough. When the golf ball is passed through the opening, the spring tension in the free wire end is released turning the coil segment into a dangerous projectile that can cause severe finger injury if a finger is accidentally caught between the free wire end and the coil.

[0005] To reduce the risk of injury when unloading golf balls, attempts have been made to individually smooth out the dangerous wire ends. These extra manufacturing steps have not adequately improved the safety of the old coil designs and add to the manufacturing costs.

[0006] There is a need for a golf ball holder that effectively holds the golf balls in place. There is also a need for a design that makes it easy to remove and insert golf balls into the holder without risk of injury. There is further a need for a golf ball holder that may be adjusted to specific needs of the user and that permits the holder and the golf balls disposed therein to be conveniently washed in a dishwasher without first having to remove the golf balls from the holder.

[0007] The present invention provides a solution to the problems outlined above. More particularly, the present invention is an effective ball holder that comprises an elongate coil having a first end and a second end. The coil has an inside chamber defined therein for releasably holding a spherical object therein. The second end has an upper coil segment connected to a lower coil segment by a resilient coil segment. The lower coil segment has no dangerous wire ends protruding therefrom. The upper coil segment and the lower coil segment have an opening defined therebetween.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective rear view of the ball holder of the present invention;

[0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective front view of the ball holder shown in FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 3 is the same perspective view as shown in FIG. 2 but with the balls removed;

[0011]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and

[0012]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the present invention is a unique ball holder device 10 that has a closed end 12 and an openable end 14. The closed end 12 has a loop segment 16 that terminates a stabilizing top section 18. It is not necessary to include the loop segment 16 in the device 10 because any suitable integral or non-integral fastener or clip may be used so that the holder 10 can conveniently be attached to a golf bag, if so desired.

[0014] The device 10 has a helical shaped coil that comprises a resilient coiled wire 17 that extends from the end 12 to the end 14. The wire 17 may be made of any suitable resilient material that provides sufficient support such as stainless steel spring wire. The wire 17 has coil sections 20 in a mid-section 22 of the device 10. The sections 20 are disposed at a distance (d1) from one another. Preferably, the distance (d1) is greater than an outer diameter of the wire 17 itself.

[0015] The openable end 14 has an upper coil segment 24 and a lower coil segment 26 that are connected by a resilient wire segment 28 extending therebetween. The segment 24 has a set of coil sections that are disposed immediately adjacent one for improved stability when balls are inserted into and taken out of the holder 10. Similarly, the segment 26 has a set of coil sections to form a cup shaped bottom 30. The bottom 30 has an opening 32 defined therein. The opening 32 is dimensioned to receive a portion 33 of a golf ball 38 c so that any undesirable sideward or backward movement of the ball 38 c is eliminated. The holder 10 is shown to hold three balls 38 a-c. The three balls are only shown as an illustrative example. It is to be understood that the holder may be designed to hold only one ball or more than three balls. A key ring may be attached to the holder.

[0016] The bottom 30 also prevents the ball 38 c from falling out of the holder 10. The bottom 30 has a diameter (D3) that is smaller than a diameter (D4) of the mid-section 22 of the holder 10. Similarly, the section 18 has a diameter that is substantially similar to the diameter (D3) of the bottom 30. The section 18 may also be slightly cup-shaped to receive and stabilize the ball 38 c. Because the section 18 receives the ball 38 a the loop 16 may be used to hang the holder 10 while the balls 38 a-c are inserted into the holder 10.

[0017] Preferably, the segment 24 extends in a first direction (D1) and the segment 26 extends in a second direction (D2) so that the first and second directions form an acute angle alpha therebetween. This means that the segments 24 and 26 are preferably not parallel and that the segment 24 is slightly angled away from the segment 26 so as to have a mouth or an opening 34 defined therebetween. It should be noted that neither the segment 24 nor the segment 26 has any dangerous protruding parts. Even if a user accidentally release the segment 24 and a finger gets caught therebetween there is no danger of injury because there are no protruding parts. Another reason is that the opening 34 is big enough not to cause any injury to most fingers even when the opening 34 is in the closed position. The segment 28 urges the segment 26 into a closed position so that the size of the opening is smaller than the diameter of the balls 38 disposed inside the holder. Because the segment 28 is resilient, the segment 26 may be moved to an open position to permit one or many balls 38 to pass through the temporarily enlarged opening 34.

[0018] The opening 34 leads into an elongate inside chamber 36 defined in the elongate device 10 by the wire 17. The chamber 36 is dimensioned to snugly hold the balls 38 a-c such as golf balls. Preferably, the chamber 36 has an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the balls 38 disposed therein. The opening 34 may be dimensioned so that the diameter of the balls 38 is greater than the opening 34 to prevent the balls 38 from passing through the opening 34. The only way to remove the balls 38 from the holder 10 is by forcing the resilient segment 28 and the segment 26 to bend away from the segment 24 to temporarily increase the size of the opening 34 until the ball 38 may pass therethrough. The user may simply grip the ball 38 c on two sides thereof and force the ball 38 c through the opening 34. Similarly, the balls may be inserted into the chamber 16 by forcing the opening 34 to sufficiently open up to receive the balls.

[0019] An automatic wire-forming machinery may be used to make the holder mechanism 10. An important practical advantage of the holder 10 of the present invention is that the openable end 14 has no sharp edges so there is virtually no risk of injury to the user while removing and inserting the balls 38 into the holder 10. The user may also adjust the size of the opening 34 by deforming the segment 28 according to the specific needs of the user. In other words, the user may adjust the size of the angle alpha to customize for looser or tighter point of entry for the balls 38. The user simply bends the section 28 and the part 26 until deformation occurs and the right size of the opening 34 is achieved. The holder 10 including the balls 38 a-c may conveniently be cleaned in a dishwasher or any other cleaning device.

[0020] The bottom 30 has a wire end 40 that is disposed immediately adjacent to a coil section 42 so that the wire end 40 does not have a free end. The wire end 40 is separated from the opening 34 by the bottom 30 so that the risk for breaking fingernails or other injuries while loading and unloading the balls is eliminated.

[0021]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the ball holder of the present invention. The ball holder 100 has a flat bottom coil 102 so that the holder 100 may stand upright. The holder 100 has an extended upper coil 104 that has a pen-receiving opening 106 defined therein. The opening 106 is designed to hold a pen 108 or any other such object therein. A golf ball 110 may be inserted between a widened holder segment 112 at the bottom of the upper coil 104 and between a widened holder segment 114 at an upper end of the bottom coil 102. The golf ball 110 may be inserted and removed as described above.

[0022]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second alternative embodiment of the ball and key holder of the present invention. The ball and key holder 200 has a flat bottom coil segment 202 so that the ball and key holder 200 may be supported and stand upright on the bottom segment 202. Similar to the embodiments described above, the holder 200 may hold a golf ball 204 that is inserted between an upper coil segment 206 and the bottom segment 202. A semi-circular key holding segment 208 extends from the upper segment 206 and has an end 210 that terminates immediately adjacent to the upper segment 206. The segment 208 may be opened to force a key 212 between the end 210 and the upper segment 208 to hold the key 212.

[0023] While the present invention has been described in accordance with preferred compositions and embodiments, it is to be understood that certain substitutions and alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A ball holder, comprising: an elongate coil having a first end and a second end, the coil having an inside chamber defined therein for releasably holding a spherical object therein; the second end having an upper coil segment connected to a lower coil segment by a resilient coil segment; and the upper coil segment and the lower coil segment having an opening defined therebetween.
 2. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the lower coil segment has a cup shaped bottom segment for supporting the spherical object.
 3. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the bottom segment has a hole defined therein for partially receiving the spherical object.
 4. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the lower coil segment is movable between an open position, to release or receive the spherical object, and a closed position.
 5. The ball holder according to claim 4 wherein the lower coil segment is biased to the closed position to prevent the spherical object from passing through the opening defined between the lower coil segment and the upper coil segment.
 6. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein chamber is dimensioned to snugly hold the spherical object while the lower coil segment urges the spherical object towards the first end of the coil.
 7. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the upper coil segment extends in a first direction and the lower coil segment extends in a second direction that is different from the first direction so that an angle alpha is formed therebetween.
 8. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the coil has a coil diameter and the lower coil segment has a lower coil diameter so that the coil diameter is greater than the lower coil diameter.
 9. The ball holder according to claim 4 wherein the lower coil segment is movable between the open and closed positions by bending the resilient coil segment.
 10. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the first end of the coil has a cup shaped segment for receiving and holding a portion of the spherical object.
 11. The ball holder according to claim 10 wherein a loop is in operative engagement with the first end of the coil.
 12. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the upper coil segment is extended and has a pen-receiving opening defined therein.
 13. The ball holder according to claim 12 wherein a pen is inserted and held within the pen-receiving opening of the upper coil segment.
 14. The ball holder according to claim 12 wherein the upper coil segment has a widened holder segment at a lower end thereof to hold the golf ball in place.
 15. The ball holder according to claim 14 wherein the lower coil segment has a widened holder segment at an upper end thereof to hold the golf ball in place.
 16. The ball holder according to claim 1 wherein the upper coil segment extends to include a semi-circular key holding segment.
 17. The ball holder according to claim 16 wherein a key is attached to the key holding segment.
 18. The ball holder according to claim 16 wherein the key holding segment has an outer end that terminates immediately adjacent to the upper coil segment. 